Amidation of esters with amino alcohols using organobase catalysis.

A catalytic protocol for the base-mediated amidation of unactivated esters with amino alcohol derivatives is reported. Investigations into mechanistic aspects of the process indicate that the reaction involves an initial transesterification, followed by an intramolecular rearrangement. The reaction is highly general in nature and can be extended to include the synthesis of oxazolidinone systems through use of dimethyl carbonate.

Practical synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant molecules enriched in sp3 character.

The expedient synthesis of compounds enriched in sp3 character is key goal in modern drug discovery. Herein, we report how a single pot Suzuki-Miyaura-hydrogenation can be used to furnish lead and fragment-like products in good to excellent yields. The approach has been successfully applied in formats amenable to parallel synthesis, in an asymmetric sense, and in the preparation of molecules with annotated biological activity.